Red String of Fate
by Solora Goldsun
Summary: When two soulmates fall in love, a red string appears between them, manifesting their eternal bond. Though the string may stretch with distance, it will never break. (Collection of Soulmate AU oneshots, multiple pairings)
1. Arkos

**So, I thought I'd try my hand at a Soulmate AU. I decided to go classic with the old concept of the red string that supposedly connects two soulmates, but with a twist. Since I hate love at first sight and don't like the idea of people knowing their soulmate before, well,** _ **knowing**_ **their soulmate, I tweaked it so that the string only appears when they fall in love. It saves the trouble of a romantic confession and still keeps the soulmate concept. I hope you like it!**

Jaune had been positive that Weiss was his soulmate. The near-instant attraction he had felt toward her, combined with how quickly his feelings escalated, clearly meant that they were meant to be!

At least, that's what he had hoped.

After the first few rejections, he thought that getting the red string to appear between them would take some extra work. After the dance, he became positive that it wouldn't appear at all. _Just another stupid crush,_ he thought dejectedly as he resigned himself once again to his single life.

It wasn't necessarily that he was desperate for love. He just couldn't shake the fear that he'd _never_ see that red string appear on his pinky, would never feel the pull that would lead him to the person who would be by his side forever.

Everyone said that the string wouldn't appear until after two soulmates have met and have each fallen in love with the other. In Jaune's mind, that meant there were a million things that could go wrong. What if he fell in love with the right person, but they never fell in love with him? What if he fell in love with the wrong person and missed his chance with the right one? What if he never met the right one?

Maybe that was why he had been so persistent in his pursuit of Weiss. Maybe a part of him just wanted the string to appear so that he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

Weeks later, when he became aware of the first stirrings of emotion toward his partner, he tried desperately to suppress them. This had to be a rebound crush. There was no way something real could arise so soon after he gave up on his former infatuation, and he didn't want to put his friendship with Pyrrha on the line.

His attempts to repress his new feelings turned out to be as ineffective as his previous attempts to sway Weiss.

It started at the dance, though he didn't consciously realize it at the time. Despite his recent heartbreak, he found himself able to smile when he started dancing with Pyrrha. Later on, when he confided in her that he was giving up on Weiss, she had hugged him and assured him that he would find the right person eventually.

Something about her tone made him actually believe her.

It wasn't until the Grimm invasion of Vale that he was finally able to get over his denial. Still beaming after the surprisingly-successful fight, Jaune was stunned when Pyrrha rushed over to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders.

"Jaune, that was amazing!" She hugged him tightly, squeezing all of the air from his lungs.

"Hnngh!" Jaune groaned. "Thanks." He grinned despite his sudden lack of oxygen. "It's all thanks to you, you know."

Pyrrha shook her head and pulled back, allowing her partner to take a breath. "I trained you, but you killed those Grimm on your own." She ruffled his hair gently, causing a pleasant warmth to travel down his spine from his suddenly-pounding chest.

"I still couldn't have done it without you," he insisted before pulling her into a second, less rib-crushing hug. She returned the embrace, and Jaune felt his smile widen at the feeling of her lean, muscular frame nestled against him. He managed to resist the urge to kiss her cheek or nuzzle the side of her neck, but the hug definitely lasted for a long time.

The night after that battle, he sat on the roof with his feet dangling over the edge. He had long ago lost any fear of falling. After fighting Pyrrha and being pushed near the rim multiple times, he was immune to the dizzying heights. He stared up at the shattered moon, lost in thought.

His entire body felt strange, as if charged with electricity, as if an invisible Nora was feeding her Aura into his somehow. Yet, at the same time, his mind was oddly calm. In fact, he couldn't remember ever thinking so clearly before.

Once he admitted to himself that these thoughts needed to be acknowledged and needed to sort themselves out, it was surprisingly easy to open up the part of his brain he had been suppressing. It was simple to go over how he felt about his partner.

She had been there for him since the beginning, putting so much time into making him a better fighter. Yet, she never complained. Heck, she legitimately enjoyed taking time out of her day to help him. Those nights on the roof were just as filled with conversation and laughter as they were with the clanging of weapons. Jaune loved feeling his body becoming stronger, feeling his reflexes getting better, before slumping against a wall and catching his breath while talking with Pyrrha about their days.

It was so simple, yet so wonderful. He knew that he didn't enjoy talking with his other friends this much. He loved Ren like a brother, but there was only so much they could talk about before falling into an awkward silence. Nora, while awesome, was exhausting to be around after an hour or two. Even Ruby, his sister in social awkwardness, could only talk for so long before they would both mutually retire from interacting.

With Pyrrha, however, Jaune felt like he could either talk or listen forever. Even when they ran out of things to say, they would sometimes sit together for a little while longer, thinking their own thoughts while taking silent comfort from each other's presence. He had never been able to do that with anyone before.

During the Grimm invasion, he had been scared. It hadn't been a fear of his own death, however. After killing that first Ursa, he had been relatively confident about his chances of survival. He had been afraid for Pyrrha, even though that made no sense.

There had been a few moments when, despite what he knew about her abilities, he wondered if a Grimm would somehow get a lucky shot in. This wasn't like anything they had dealt with before. What if something happened that would suddenly take Pyrrha away forever?

When the fight ended and Pyrrha ran into his arms, everything had been right with the world. He had, of course, felt relief when the rest of his friends were okay. However, none of the other hugs or pats on the shoulder he received had felt quite the same.

Jaune let out a long sigh as he recalled her bright, emerald eyes and that amazing smile. He lay back on the roof, still letting his feet dangle in front of him. _Great,_ he thought. _I'm in love with my partner. I'm in love with Pyrrha._

He voiced the phrase in his head, fully expecting to feel another surge of hopelessness, similar to what he had felt with Weiss. He was ready for the disappointment, ready to resign himself to getting over something that went so much deeper than a simple crush.

Instead, he felt a weird sensation in his chest, as if a weight was being lifted off of his ribcage. He took a breath and smiled. Despite his fear, he felt a certain _rightness_. No matter how many times he thought "I love Pyrrha," it didn't feel the least bit strange or wrong.

That light sensation traveled through his body, making it easier to breathe than before. The electric feeling in his blood turned to fire as the lightness mixed with it and he felt a sharp shock going from his left shoulder, to his hand, to his…

Jaune stared openmouthed at his left hand. Wrapped around his pinky was a glowing, red strand. It was like Aura, but more concentrated. Blinking rapidly, he touched it with his right hand, feeling a slight rise in temperature. The string was soft, but not quite solid, like the air above a static-charged piece of cloth. It trailed from his pinky, across the roof, and toward the closed door, where it disappeared under the crack.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was in Team JNPR's dorm room, staring at one of her textbooks without really reading it. Her head was still buzzing from that battle. One second, she was remembering with a certain measure of pride how good of a fighter Jaune had become. The next, she was wondering just what else they could expect from the White Fang. The next, she was just feeling grateful that no one had died. She was paying some attention to Nora's exaggerated retelling of the battle on her scroll to some of hers and Ren's friends from their village.

Just as her thoughts went back to Jaune and she started to wonder when he would be coming back, she felt a sharp pang in her chest. She sat up straight as the sensation didn't go away, but went to her arm, blazing a trail to her hand.

Slowly, hardly daring to believe it, she moved her left hand in front of her face. Thin, red, and beautiful, a glowing string was tied around her pinky and leading under the door. She felt a tug on the other side and immediately stood up.

She was faintly aware of Nora letting out a gasp followed by an excited squeak, but didn't bother turning to look. She'd fill the others in later. Right now, she needed to get to the roof.

Jaune stood and was halfway across the roof before he stopped. He looked at the thread and saw that it was glowing brighter. Somehow, he knew that Pyrrha was coming closer. He decided to wait for her. It would be better to have this meeting privately, rather than in a hallway.

His entire body was tense. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He stared at the door, his fingers twitching as he felt his soulmate's presence drawing closer and closer.

Finally, the door flew open and a near-breathless Pyrrha was staring at him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were shining with unshed tears, and the most beautiful smile in the world was on her face. Jaune wasted no time in closing the distance between them and hugging her tightly.

Pyrrha sighed happily, wrapping her arms around Jaune while nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. "I knew it," she murmured once she was able to speak again, sniffing quietly as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I knew it was you."

Jaune felt a lump in his throat and realized that his eyes were also watering. "Sorry you had to wait so long," he whispered, brushing his lips against her ear.

"It doesn't matter," Pyrrha said, touching a soft kiss to his neck. "We're here now."

This was even better than she had imagined. She had heard stories about what it was like to find one's soulmate, but nothing could have prepared her for this. She felt safe, but also strong, as if she could easily fight a thousand Ursai at once. She was warm, happy, and more content than she could ever remember being. She could feel the connection between her and Jaune, could sense the love between them and around them in the form of the red string. She knew that, as long as they were together, she could handle whatever else happened.

Jaune drew back a little to look at her face, gently wiping a few stray tears with his thumb as he gazed into the emerald depths of her eyes. One of her hands went up to touch his moist cheek and he leaned his face into her palm.

There was no sudden spark or surge of emotion when their lips touched. All of their feelings were already out in the open. This was just a confirmation of what they knew.

Pyrrha's knees trembled as Jaune's soft lips moved slowly against hers. Her hand went from his cheek to the back of his head. Slipping her fingers through his blond hair, she tugged playfully while pressing him closer. His left hand was on her cheek, and she could feel the warmth of the string against her skin. An idea occurred to her and she broke away from the kiss to touch her lips to it.

Both teens gasped as the string glowed brighter, sending a pulse of pure, electric warmth through their bodies.

Jaune trembled at the overwhelming sensation and noticed Pyrrha's shaky knees for the first time. "W-Wanna go sit against the wall?" he asked.

"Please!"

Once they were seated, Jaune pulled Pyrrha close so that she was snuggled against his side with her head on his shoulder. It felt so natural, as if they had been doing this for years. He lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed the string, causing that shocking feeling to go through them again.

Pyrrha sighed, slipping her fingers through Jaune's. "I love you," she murmured. She couldn't believe she was finally saying it out loud! Part of her wondered if she had gotten knocked out during the battle and this was an elaborate fever dream. The rest of her mind knew that this was real. This feeling was far, far beyond what a simple dream could bring.

Jaune kissed the top of her head. "I love you too." He gently squeezed her hand as a soft breeze ruffled his hair.

Despite the lingering fear from that day's battle, there was a sense of peace between the two as they sat together. One way or another, everything would be okay. They were as sure of that as they were of the red string, which continued to twist and glow around them, keeping them connected from then until eternity.

 **I was going to wait to post this, but the fandom is likely going to need some fluff. I will be watching episode 7 when it airs, and also saw RT's little post concerning the mature turn the show will be taking. I know what that means! "Mature turn" is just writer-talk for "We're going to do horrible things to the characters you love and shred your heart to ribbons." I should know. I grew up with Harry Potter, after all.**

 **Well, we'll see what happens. I sense that I will be heavily inspired to make a villain-centric fic soon. Peace out!**


	2. Team Sloth

**Here's the Team Sloth chapter! You can never go wrong with these two cuties. I figure that we could all use a bit of fluff in our lives right now. Enjoy!**

Ren knew that he never would have gotten far without Nora. Whenever he was too quiet or timid, she would immediately step in and give him the push he needed. When he started to doubt himself, she was quick to assure him that he was amazing and could do anything he set his mind to. He was smart, kind, awesome, handsome ("But I don't mean that in a weird way, I swear!" Nora was always quick to add.), and basically perfect.

No one else made him feel like that. To everyone at the orphanage, he was that quiet, sarcastic kid who glared at everyone and would probably never get adopted. He still didn't know why Nora had singled him out that day when they were little and decided to make him her best friend. Maybe her hyperactive mind had come to the conclusion that, since he was her opposite, they would naturally fit together. Or, maybe she had known somehow that he needed her.

When they got older, she promised him that she wouldn't let herself get adopted by anyone who wouldn't also take him. That had been the first time she saw him cry.

He had always wanted to be a Hunter, and had always intended to go to Beacon. When Nora told him that she had the same dream, he knew that he was making the right decision. He knew that, whatever happened, he'd be okay as long as his best friend was by his side.

When they were admitted to Beacon, he began to worry. He found out that the school operated on a system of four-person teams. These teams roomed together, trained together, and became each other's family over the course of their education. What if he didn't end up with Nora?

Rationally, he knew that it didn't matter. They would never stop being best friends, no matter what. Nora frequently promised that, and he believed her.

Still, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the idea of not being near Nora, of three other people who weren't him becoming her essential family… Well, it hurt. It hurt a lot.

During the first night at Beacon, that worry dominated his thoughts. He didn't even have the presence of mind to get irritated at the loud conversation/argument three of the other new girls were having. When Nora curled up next to him and fell asleep, he stayed awake for a little while, listening to her breathing. That calmed him down and he was eventually able to drift off as well.

When Nora woke Ren up that morning, she noticed that he was being even quieter than usual. He was also acting unusually gloomy. Even with her usual excited morning talk, he didn't brighten. He didn't even grunt to acknowledge her words. He just stared into space with the same frown on his face.

He didn't speak until they were in the locker room. Even then, he sounded distant and distracted. She knew that he had been listening to everything she said, but something was definitely bothering him.

As they left the locker room and entered the hallway, she ran up behind him and hugged him around the middle, causing both of them to stop in their tracks. "Ren?" she chirped. "What's wrong? You can tell me."

Ren looked over his shoulder, his gaze softening at Nora's open, happy smile. "It's nothing, Nora. Just thinking about initiation."

"Oh. I'll be quiet and let you think." Nora squeezed him briefly before letting go.

"No, it's fine," he quickly assured her. "I can listen and think at the same time. I've been doing it for years." He forced a small grin.

"Okay." He definitely was thinking of something other than initiation.

When they stood on the launch pad and Ozpin announced that the first person they made eye contact with would be their partners, Ren was horrified. Depending on where they landed, a thousand different things could happen. He decided to start resigning himself to the impeding separation.

Nora was ecstatic. This would be easy! They just had to close their eyes until they found each other. She started to tell Ren, but realized that closing their eyes in a Grimm-infested forest was probably a bad idea. So, she just focused on preparing herself for the launch.

During the few seconds after his launch, Ren emptied his mind. He focused on the feel of StormFlower in his hands and the sight of the approaching trees. He chose one and, before he could think too deeply about it, dug his blades into the trunk, spinning around it until he reached the ground. He dusted himself off, breathing a mental sigh of relief at his success.

He heard a blast and an excited whoop above his head and looked up, catching a glimpse of yellow before the person vanished from his sight. The sound of rustling in the bushes caught his attention and he forced himself to focus on the task at hand: surviving until he could find Nora.

As soon as Nora landed, her only thought was: _Gotta find Ren! Gotta find Ren! Gotta find Ren!_

She had tried to not seem too nervous back at Beacon, since Ren had obviously been preoccupied with something and she didn't want to make him more stressed. Truthfully, she was terrified. The mere thought of them being separated was unthinkable. What if he found another partner? What if that person became his best friend? What if that person became his soulmate?

Nora tried to push that last thought from her mind. After loving Ren for so many years and never seeing the red string appear between them, she was pretty sure that he wasn't her soulmate. That meant she was supposed to be a good, supportive friend and be totally happy when he found his real soulmate. And, theoretically, she'd find one of her own eventually.

No matter how many times she thought that, however, she couldn't stop her chest from hurting. If Ren wasn't her soulmate, who was? Who could she possibly ever love more than him?

She thought back to the first time she had seen him, soon after her parents' death and her arrival at the orphanage. He had been sitting by himself under a tree, staring at some nearby flowers. When she ran over and started talking to him, he had seemed surprised, but not the least bit irritated. As she talked, she realized that he wasn't telling her to shut up, like other people often did. In fact, he seemed to be actually listening to her. When she asked if he'd be her best friend, he nodded silently and a tiny grin came to his face.

Years later, she still perfectly remembered that first smile.

A roar sounded nearby and a devious glint entered her eyes. At the very least, she would finally fulfill her lifelong dream of riding an Ursa!

Ren felt oddly cold. It was a familiar coldness, but one he hadn't felt since his early years before Nora came to the orphanage. Of course, there had been times when he and Nora were separated for whatever reason. There were field trips, moments when the boys and girls were made to be in different areas, and adoption interviews. There was always a certainty, however, that they'd be back together in the end. Now, he was just unsure and scared.

For the first time, he wondered if these feelings for Nora were even logical or healthy. Was one person really supposed to be so dependent on another? For years, they had relied solely on each other, because everyone else in their lives either died, left, or didn't get close enough to them to matter. Would things change once they found their teams and started making other friends?

He left the trees and started walking through a field of tall grass. As he thought, a moment of clarity struck. The answer was both yes and no.

The dependence between them would probably lessen once more people were brought into their lives. They'd grow more independent and more stable as they learned to rely on other people and themselves.

However, he didn't think that the _need_ that existed between them would ever go away. They would always need each other. No matter how many people came into their lives, Nora would always come first. That was why he wanted to be partners with her so badly. While they would remain together no matter what, he still wanted them to be together all the time.

He wanted them to be _together-together._

With that realization, he felt his fear ebbing away. It faded to a sense of acceptance and confidence concerning the future. With that calmness came a gentle warmth that spread through his body and concentrated in his chest and left hand.

He stopped dead in his tracks, bringing his hand up to his face. Before his eyes, the warmth moved into his pinky and manifested itself in the form of a red string that led from his finger and off into the trees.

Of course, a King Taijitu chose that exact moment to try sneaking up on him. Ren was definitely _not_ in the mood for this!

Nora was in the process of trying to get the right angle to jump on an Ursa's back. Then, a feeling akin to an electric shock shot down her arm and to her left pinky. Without even looking at the Grimm, she swung Magnhild with her right hand and knocked it unconscious.

She stared at the red string, her mouth open, wondering if this was some kind of dream, or if she had gotten hit in the head at some point. She blinked a few times. It was still there. There was a tug from the other side, which caused her to immediately rush into the trees. She didn't care if she ran into other students. She would go back to her original plan of closing her eyes, if she had to. She didn't care if that meant running into every tree and Grimm in the forest. All that mattered was Ren.

As she ran, she felt his presence growing stronger and stronger. She was almost there. He was fighting something, but the fight was drawing to a close.

She stopped short, huffing a little when she realized she had missed his battle. Her smile quickly returned as she noticed some low branches. Giggling to herself, she climbed into the tree and made her way toward Ren.

Ren was dusting himself off while looking around. Nora was there. He could sense that. Why wasn't she showing herself?

He was about to call out to her when a series of random noises sounded above his head, followed by his best friend dropping down to hang upside down in front of him. The sheer familiarity of her goofiness caused him to smile. "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like."

Nora knew that she'd never forget the adorably happy look on Ren's face at that moment. Barely able to contain her joy, she leaned forward and tapped his nose. "Boop!" As she said her old code-word for her true feelings, she felt a pulse go from her to Ren through the string.

Ren was stunned as he felt another surge of warmth flooding through his body in response to that single, familiar word. In an instant, he realized what it had always meant. He thought back to all the times he had received a lighthearted "boop" on the nose in the past. Had Nora loved him for that long? _I am such an idiot!_

He took a step forward, moving one hand up to touch her cheek as he leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers. He felt a slight jolt at that initial moment of contact, similar to a static shock. The feeling quickly melted into pure, wordless bliss.

Nora closed her eyes and let out a happy moan, melting completely into the kiss. Unfortunately, this also meant not concentrating on keeping a grip on the above branch. Her legs slipped and she crashed on her head in the thick grass. "Ow…"

Rolling his eyes, Ren knelt down to help her up. As soon as they were standing, he had to brace his feet on the ground on account of Nora practically leaping into his arms to claim his lips in another kiss. As he kissed back, he forgot where he was. All he could focus on was the feeling of his best friend, his soulmate, pressed against him. She was so warm, so beautiful, and so alive. It didn't seem possible to hug her tight enough, but he certainly tried. He could feel her every movement and heartbeat. He could sense her joy as clearly as his own. At that moment, everything was perfect. He would have gladly stayed in that spot forever.

Then, he heard the sound of twigs cracking in the distance and reluctantly moved back. "Nora…" he murmured slowly, trying to remember how to speak again.

Nora bounced up and down, trying not to squeal too loudly. "Oh my gosh, Ren! Ren, I love you! I love youuuuu!" She started peppering his face with kisses.

"Nora." His voice came out as a quiet laugh as her lips tickled his cheeks.

Nora giggled. "You're so cute!" She started to brush her lips against his again.

Ren forced himself to take a step back, gently holding Nora by the shoulders. "Hold on, Nora. I love you too, but maybe we should finish this when we're not in the middle of initiation."

 _Initiation?_ Nora blinked before grinning sheepishly. _Oh, right. Initiation. That's still happening._ "Okay. We'll have plenty of time later, _partner_." She hugged him once more before drawing Magnhild. "Let's go ride an Ursa!"

Ren followed her silently, unable to shake the smile from his face. After a few minutes, however, he felt his happiness slowly turning to genuine worry as he felt the hyper determination passing from Nora's hand to his. _Wait…she's actually serious about riding one of those things._

A loud roar sounded nearby. Nora sprinted ahead and his heart dropped. "Nora, wait!" He ran after her. "This is a terrible idea!"

 **My biggest challenge in writing these two is emphasizing how close they are and how much they rely on each other without making it seem overly clingy. I made that reliance more apparent here, since this takes place before they made friends with any of the other characters. Judging by "Boop" and Nora's meltdown at the beginning of the volume, it's pretty clear that they only had each other for a long time.**

 **I'm thinking either White Rose or Black Sun for the next chapter. I'd do Nuts and Dolts, but I think it'll be awhile before I can think about that ship without, you know, weeping uncontrollably. We'll see. Peace out!**


	3. White Rose

**Happy Friday, everyone! Two days until we get our hearts ripped out (one for you sponsor-folks). Let's have some cute lesbian fluff in the meantime!**

It had been about an hour since Winter's departure. Weiss was lying on her back, head pressed into her pillow, trying to ignore the buzzing of her scroll. She wanted to put it on silent, but decided against it. Ruby could possibly call, and would get needlessly worried if she didn't answer. Then, she'd have to deal with those concerned, ridiculously-cute puppy dog eyes.

She was quick to shut down that last thought.

The buzzing stopped and Weiss picked up the scroll, glaring at the screen. This made fifteen unanswered calls over the past few days. Breathing a sigh, she opened her voicemail and chose the most recent message. Maybe he actually had something important to say. If that was the case, she would call back.

" _Weiss Schnee, stop this childish game!"_

Nope.

" _I don't know what you and your sister are up to, but you cannot ignore my calls forever. After that disgraceful excuse for a battle, I was hoping that you would agree to my plan to transfer you to Atlas. But now, I see you are too immature to even talk to me about it. And as for that monkey that has been seen with you and your team, I hope you-"_

Click.

Weiss threw her scroll to the side, wincing as it clattered against the floor. It started buzzing again a few seconds later. Letting out an angry huff, she put her pillow over her face and scrunched her eyes shut. After five buzzes, it stopped. A minute later, it was still silent. She let out a sigh of relief.

The sound of quiet snuffling caused her to lift her pillow. Her face immediately softened when she saw Zwei sitting next to her bed, looking up at her. "Hello, sweetie," she whispered, her voice taking on a happy, gentle tone that she never used when there were people around. "Were you worried about me?"

Zwei yipped quietly, standing on his hind legs to lick her hand. Weiss giggled and sat up, picking the Corgi up and pulling him onto her lap, where he curled up contentedly. He nuzzled his head against her hand as she started scratching behind his ears.

"Good boy, Zwei," she murmured. "You're such a good boy." She let out a long sigh as the dog's presence eased the tight, tense coils in her chest and stomach. Closing her eyes, she drew Zwei closer and hugged him, smiling when he immediately rested his head on her shoulder and whined quietly.

The door opened. "Hey, Weiss. I was-Oh!" Ruby stopped short when she saw her partner hugging Zwei.

 _Oh, Dust!_ Weiss quickly moved back, scratching Zwei once more before placing him back on the ground. She tried to force her face to take on its usual, neutral expression. "I take it there are no interesting fights right now?" she asked in a forced-casual voice.

"Yeah. I called a few minutes ago to see if you wanted to check out some of the games." Ruby frowned. Weiss had been holding Zwei in the same way she or Yang often would when upset. "Did, uh…Did something happen with your sister?"

"No," Weiss replied quickly. She realized that she had probably responded a little _too_ quickly. She mentally prepared herself to get fussed over by her partner. Before, she would have brushed her off. Now, she knew that doing so would result in a pair of sad silver eyes that would haunt her for the rest of the day.

Ruby walked over and rubbed Zwei's ears before plopping down on the bed. "I'm sure you can talk it out, whatever it is," she said encouragingly. "I mean, she seemed a bit harsh, but you're sisters, so it should be okay."

"She's not _harsh_ ," Weiss snapped, immediately feeling bad when Ruby flinched. "She's just very strict," she continued in a calmer voice. "We both had a very hard upbringing. She tries to be a caring sister despite everything, but years of discipline can rub off on you. It's no wonder she joined the Atlas military."

"Oh." Ruby nodded slowly, her brows furrowing a little at the implications of Weiss's words. She remembered her saying that being raised in fear of the White Fang had led to a very difficult childhood. Had the Schnee sisters really been treated so badly growing up?

The thought caused Ruby to feel a surprisingly-intense surge of anger toward Weiss's father. How could he treat his daughters that way? How could he treat _Weiss_ that way? Weiss was amazing!

A buzz from the floor caused both girls to turn around and Zwei to bark. Weiss groaned and picked up her scroll, silencing it before shoving it under her pillow. She tried to avoid Ruby's gaze, but eventually caved after a few minutes of those silver eyes boring into her head.

"It's my father," she admitted. "He's been trying to get me to either stop being a Huntress or transfer to Atlas. His people also informed him of our team's friendship with Sun and Velvet. He doesn't like that."

"That's horrible!" Ruby gasped. "How could anyone be so racist?" She paused, realizing who she was talking to. "I-I mean, I know you thought differently before, but you're trying to get better and he's an adult, so he doesn't have any excuse, and-"

"Ruby," Weiss cut in gently. "I know what you mean." She felt herself smiling a little at Ruby's rambling.

"Okay. Good," Ruby said with a relieved grin. "As for the rest, he shouldn't force you to leave Beacon. You're awesome, and where would we get another teammate as amazing as you? We won't! That's the answer!" She hugged Weiss tightly. "No one's splitting up Team RWBY."

Weiss stiffened at the unexpected contact, but didn't push her partner away. She felt her cheeks growing warm and her muscles relaxing. After a moment, she rested her cheek on top of Ruby's head.

Ruby resisted the urge to squeal happily when Weiss didn't reject her hug. Instead, she bit her lip and nuzzled her friend's shoulder. After a few minutes, she frowned. "Wait…his people? Has he been spying on us?" She sat bolt upright. "Are there _cameras_ in the _room_?!"

It was impossible not to laugh at the horrified look on Ruby's face. Weiss's lips twitched and she couldn't suppress a slight giggle. "No, Ruby. He just has people he knows who tell him what they see if they spot me in town. He's not _that_ crazy."

"Oh." The young leader let out a sigh of relief. "That's good." Her heart pounded at the giggle Weiss let slip. She could count on one hand the times she had heard her partner's laugh before. It was every bit as beautiful as her singing voice, carrying a gentle, melodious tone that seemed to float in the air for a few seconds after she became silent again.

After a moment, Ruby scooted close to hug Weiss again. "You're okay, though. Right?"

Weiss's cheeks heated up further. Again though, she didn't move away. This was so strange. She usually shunned too much physical contact, unless it was from her sister. Her annoyingly-cheerful partner, however, had slowly worked her way through that metaphorical shield. Casual hugs, blatantly jumping into Weiss's lap, and grabbing her hand to lead her somewhere were all common occurrences at this point.

It was…nice. It wasn't like the rare moments of affection from Winter. With her sister, she was always grateful and slightly surprised when offered a hug, or an encouraging pat on the shoulder, or some other reminder that the older Schnee actually cared. With Ruby, it felt perfectly natural, as if she was simply someone who _deserved_ to be loved. No one had ever made her feel like that bef-

 _Wait, what did I just think?!_ Ruby shifted and Weiss felt those silver eyes looking at her. She realized that she hadn't answered her partner's question.

"Weiss?" Ruby blinked curiously, concerned at her silence. "Your face is red. Are you getting sick?"

"N-No, I'm fine." Weiss quickly forced a smile. "Thank you."

There was something Weiss wasn't telling her, but Ruby didn't pursue it, deciding instead to rest her head on her shoulder again. "Just let me know if you need to talk, okay? Or if you need me to wave Crescent Rose in your dad's face till he leaves you alone."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, an amused smile replacing her forced one. "I don't think that would end well for you. Security and all."

"Good point." Ruby thought for a moment. "I guess I could just pick up the scroll next time he calls and be really scary and intimidating."

"You? Scary?" Weiss snickered a little at the thought.

"Hey, I have a really good horror movie girl voice!" Ruby protested. "I used to prank my friends at school with it all the time."

"If I ever want to convince him that his scroll is haunted, you'll be the first to know," Weiss muttered, rolling her eyes. Despite her partner's goofiness, or perhaps because of it, she could feel her earlier tension fading away completely. She hesitated before wrapping an arm around Ruby's waist and returning her hug. "I…appreciate your support, Ruby. It means a lot."

Ruby let out a surprised squeak at the hug, but was quick to cuddle closer. "No problem, partner," she chirped, trying to make her voice light despite how rapidly her heart was beating.

The two stayed in that position for a few minutes longer than necessary. Then, a few minutes more. Eventually, it became clear that they wouldn't be moving for a good while. A comfortable silence descended upon them and, soon enough, Ruby was starting to doze. Weiss leaned back against the headboard, allowing her leader to rest fully against her. Now that she wasn't being directly watched, she allowed a tender expression to come to her face.

She couldn't help but think back to that first day at Beacon, when she had tried to get Pyrrha as her partner, when being stuck with someone like Ruby filled her with combined dread and disgust. Now, she wondered how she had ever lived without this irritating, kind, reckless girl who, at some point, had become her closest friend. When Weiss closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall asleep, she was still smiling.

It was about an hour later when the two woke up. Ruby stirred first, making a sleepy noise as she nuzzled against Weiss's shoulder. She faintly heard the sound of Zwei snoring across the room. It took another minute to remember where she was. Rather than panicking at the position she was in, she simply cuddled closer. Weiss was warm, warmer than Ruby would have expected. Her slender arms felt so safe. _Can we just stay like this?_

The scent of rose and strawberry shampoo greeted Weiss as her eyes fluttered open. Her cheek was pressed against a soft head of brown hair. She felt Ruby shift closer and tightened her arms in response. Her mind was hazy, and she felt completely peaceful. Even in her half-asleep state, however, she knew that this wasn't an ordinary kind of serenity. This was better than waking up on a weekend and realizing that it was okay to sleep in. It was better than hiding under the covers when it was cold. It was better than her early memories of falling asleep on Winter's lap.

It was better because Ruby was right there.

Ruby stretched a little before relaxing again. Her hand brushed against Weiss's and she felt a tiny jolt. Biting her lip, she gently gripped it. When her partner weaved their fingers together, she wondered if she was dreaming.

Holding Ruby's hand was such a simple action, but it felt wonderful. Small details were nearly overwhelming to her senses: the callouses on the palm, the rapid pulse at the wrist, how small it was. Weiss sighed contentedly. Nothing else seemed to matter. Her father and her insecurities faded to a part of her mind that wasn't even worth visiting. All that mattered was that sense of simple, sleepy bliss.

She didn't want it to ever end. She didn't want to let go of Ruby.

The tiny spasm in her arm was her only warning before the hand gripping Ruby's suddenly became unbearably hot. Her eyes flew open and she gasped at the soft, scarlet glow that was suddenly illuminating the room. The red string was wrapped around her pinky, twined around her wrist, twirling around her body before ending at the hand she was holding.

Ruby sat up, her eyes wide as she stared at their entwined hands. She trembled at the pulsing heat on her palm and the way her heart seemed to be sending pure fire through her body with each thump. Unable to speak, she just looked up at Weiss, her breath hitching at the stunned look in those mist-blue eyes.

Words also retreated to the realm of unimportance. Weiss couldn't even think in coherent sentences at this point. She just blinked dumbly as those beautiful silver eyes consumed her. Her free hand had dropped to the bed when Ruby sat up, but she brought it up now to cup her partner's, her soulmate's, cheek.

 _Oh._ Ruby nuzzled her cheek against Weiss's palm, her shocked expression melting into a blissful smile. She felt a gentle brush of soft lips on hers and immediately closed the distance between them. She continued to hold Weiss's left hand tightly while using her right hand to pull her closer.

Weiss let out a quiet moan as Ruby tenderly claimed her first kiss. Her thumb moved methodically against her soulmate's soft skin. Her other hand continued to burn pleasantly as the red string glowed bright enough for her to see even through her closed eyelids.

Ruby made a sound of protest when the kiss ended, opening her eyes to see Weiss gazing at her. She could see the lingering shock and overwhelming happiness on her face as easily as she could feel it with each warm pulse of the string. A tear trickled down Weiss's face and Ruby leaned in to kiss it away, also kissing her scar in the process.

Weiss whimpered at the strange, pure, wonderful emotions welling up in her chest. More tears fell as she pulled Ruby close again, hugging her tightly. "This is… I can't believe…" She shook her head slowly, still unable to articulate her feelings.

Ruby buried her face in the crook of Weiss's neck. "I know. Me neither." She brushed her lips against her soulmate's shoulder. "I'm glad it's you, though."

This time, a sob rose in Weiss's throat. She kissed the top of Ruby's head. "I'm glad too, Ruby." She closed her eyes. "I…I love you."

Ruby rubbed Weiss's back soothingly, smiling as she felt her partner beginning to calm down. "I love you too, Weiss."

They didn't need to talk after that. They just sat together, absorbing the new, confusing emotions that passed between them. It was strange, but they felt a firm conviction that the strangeness would pass with time. The comfort and unadulterated happiness between them were what would remain, and they were more than satisfied with that.

 **I wanted to try doing a chapter where the two soulmates realize their love at around the same time. I absolutely adore this pairing! I'm a bit of a sucker for the tsundere/bubbly, adorable ray of sunshine ships. Review, but don't flame. Cinder's burning everything to the ground already. Peace out!**


	4. Chocolate Bunnies

**So, this was not the pairing I was expecting to do next. However, I decided to draw from one of the few good things that came from the past few episodes: Velvet's awesomeness! Also, I've been slipping more and more onto the Chocolate Bunnies ship over the course of the Volume. It's mostly been little things, like how Velvet expressed concern for Coco rather than Yatsu during the tournament, and how I've just seen more general interaction between them than between any of the other members of Team CFVY. I like what I've seen of their relationship. You can just tell that Coco has complete faith in Velvet's abilities and that Velvet completely trusts Coco as a leader. I hope you like this slightly-happier version of the battle for Beacon. Enjoy!**

There was no one in the world who Velvet respected more than Coco, who had established herself as a worthy leader on their very first day as a team. With her blunt, slightly-overbearing personality, she had made it perfectly clear that she would look out for her teammates and do everything in her power to make them feel able to come to her for help.

A week later, she stopped a group of bullies from hurting Velvet just by _glaring_ at them. After that, Velvet always looked to Coco as an emotional rock and protector. Looking back, she was convinced that that was the moment she started to develop feelings for her.

These feelings only deepened over time. As Team CFVY grew closer as a whole, so did the individual members. Yatsuhashi was the quiet, strong older brother who would destroy anything that threatened to hurt his partner. Fox was a gentle, occasionally-snarky fountain of advice and emotional support. Coco became, not only her respected leader, but her closest friend. Whether they were on the battlefield or going out for a day of clothes shopping (which usually ended with Coco spending the most money), Velvet always felt happy and safe when they were together.

Over the years, a similar sense of respect developed on Coco's side. She watched her timid teammate build her unique weapon, endure racist jerk after racist jerk, and slowly come out of her shell to the rest of the team. Somehow, despite all she had to put up with, the rabbit Faunus managed to keep a kind, optimistic, gentle attitude around everyone. It was that gentleness that made Coco want to protect her, despite the fact that she really didn't need to.

That was why she kept her from using her weapon during the Grimm invasion. Not only did she respect Velvet's abilities enough to know that she could handle herself without it, but she couldn't help but wonder if another wave would come later. If that happened and Velvet had already used up her arsenal, what would happen?

During the battle for Beacon, however, it became obvious that Velvet would have to put herself on the line and unleash her full potential. Coco was confident when she ordered her to take on the Atlesian Paladins. Velvet's adorably-excited response still managed to send a pang through her. She put on a brave face when Weiss expressed her worry, but her eyes were shining with nervousness behind her glasses.

For a few minutes, the fear was replaced with pride as Velvet flawlessly drew weapon after weapon from her box. Coco couldn't help but grin when a copy of her own Gatling gun was used. Velvet had only used her box twice before throughout their time at Beacon, and it was always incredible to watch.

Then, one of the Paladins hit her, knocking her and her box to the side, where she lay motionless. Coco felt her heart stop. "Velvet!" Never before had the bullets left her gun so rapidly. She gritted her teeth as the metal abomination continued to advance. She desperately wanted to rush to Velvet's side, but doing so would mean she'd have to stop shooting.

Weiss streaked past her, and she held her breath, positive that she was about to watch her teammate _and_ another brave friend die in front of her. Then, she saw the glowing arm and the giant sword coming from one of those beautiful glyphs. She nearly wept with gratitude when Velvet stood up as the mech fell. The Faunus took a picture of the sword and flashed that adorable smile, and Coco knew that everything was okay for the moment.

Everything was okay.

Her heart pounded. Adrenaline surged through her system alongside an overwhelming feeling of relief. Velvet was safe.

 _Her_ Velvet was safe.

Coco's left hand grew warm. For a moment, she thought it was just the residual heat of her weapon. Then, she felt a sting in her little finger, quickly followed by a flood of emotions that were similar to hers, but weren't coming from her.

Velvet nearly dropped her camera as a red glow suddenly started emitting from her left hand, accompanied by a sense of comforting warmth that was completely out of place on the battlefield. Her eyes followed the shining thread as it led from her pinky, across the destroyed courtyard, and to her beloved leader.

Coco felt her feet moving as she started to close the distance between her and her newly-found soulmate. Then, a series of thumping footsteps followed by the appearance of another Paladin forced her to focus on aiming her gun.

Sun, from where he stood behind her, voiced exactly what she was thinking: "You have GOT to be kidding me!"

The battle raged for far too long. Coco wasn't sure how long it lasted. She didn't bother thinking about it. She just focused on killing every machine, White Fang member, and Grimm that came near her or her teammates. At one point, Velvet was knocked out completely. The only thing that kept Coco from breaking down entirely was the fact that the red string, while not glowing as strongly, was still there. That meant Velvet was still alive.

When the dragon started circling the school and it became clear that they needed to retreat, Coco rushed to Velvet's side. She started to pick her up when Yatsuhashi touched her shoulder.

"I'll take her," he told her.

"I can-" Coco stared at Velvet's hand as Yatsu cut her off.

"I know you want her close, but we may need cover fire." He looked at their hands, his eyes full of understanding. "You know I'll take care of her."

Coco bit her lip and nodded, reluctantly moving back to allow Yatsu to pick up Velvet. In the end, the team did need cover fire. Both Coco and Fox made sure that no enemies could get near their teammates. By the time they got to the ships, they were exhausted.

As Coco started to board one of the ships, her eyes fell on something that caused her to stop short. "Oh shit!" she gasped. She could see Team RWBY. Blake and Yang were lying on the ground, Blake holding her abdomen, Yang missing an arm. _That could have happened to any of us…_ Again, she felt a pulse from the string.

She thought about going over, but didn't know what comfort she could offer. She felt Fox touch her arm, urging her to get on the ship. _Stay strong,_ she thought, the sentiment directed at all of her fellow Huntsmen. _We'll need to be._

Once on the ship, Coco sat next to Yatsuhashi, who had a still-unconscious Velvet curled up on his lap. There were two medics on board, but Coco didn't call out to them. They were tending to people in much more critical conditions. Besides, she could tell by the strength of the string that Velvet wasn't badly hurt.

When she explained this to Fox, he smiled at her. "Well, at least one good thing came out of this mess."

"I guess," Coco sighed. She didn't feel particularly happy at that moment. She was grateful. She was relieved. She was very much in love. None of that could erase the images in her mind of Grimm overrunning the school, of the White Fang slaughtering innocent people, of that poor robot girl's torn-up body, of Yang and her freaking stub of a right shoulder! Who else would be hurt or killed before this ended? She was momentarily distracted when she felt the warmth in her pinky grow stronger.

"Hn…" Velvet groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. The first thing she was aware of was Yatsuhashi holding her in his familiar, strong arms. Then, she felt a flood of mixed emotions: anger, fear, grief, relief, hope, and love. She opened her eyes to see Coco staring down at her. Smiling weakly, she reached up to touch her face. "Hello."

Coco felt her throat tighten. "Hey." She took Velvet's hand and kissed it softly. "Feeling okay?" She asked more for Fox and Yatsuhashi's benefit than her own.

"I'm fine," Velvet assured her, gripping Coco's hand tightly. "Thank goodness we all are."

"Yeah." Coco touched a gentle forefinger to the string, tracing from her left hand, which was entwined with Velvet's right hand, to Velvet's left hand, where it rested on her abdomen. "Well, this was a hell of a time to figure this out."

Velvet shivered at the sensation of Coco touching the string. "I know. I wish it could have been under better circumstances." She sat up, smiling at Yatsuhashi as he moved over to let her sit next to Coco. "I'm glad it happened, though." She snuggled gratefully into her leader's side, nuzzling her shoulder.

Despite her lingering fear and sadness, Coco couldn't help but snicker when one of Velvet's rabbit ears tickled her cheek. "Hey, watch it." She blew playfully at it, causing her soulmate to let out a quiet giggle. That sound alone was enough to calm down the young leader's heartbeat a little. She wrapped her arms tightly around Velvet and leaned down to touch a kiss to her lips.

There were tears on Coco's lips. Velvet tasted the salt as she returned the kiss. Coco didn't even seem to realize that she was crying. _She's trying to be strong for all of us._ She sent comforting thoughts through the string as they kissed, and could feel Coco growing calmer and a little happier as a result. She paused to remove her leader's glasses, gazing into her moist eyes before brushing more kisses over her eyelids. "We'll get through this, Coco," she murmured. "We're all alive and we're all here." She felt Yatsuhashi place a hand on her back in response to her words and smiled over her shoulder at him.

Coco nodded, noticing for the first time the wet trails streaking her cheeks. Behind her, Fox wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his head between her shoulders. She placed her right hand over his while taking Velvet's left hand in hers, so that the two spots where the string was attached could touch. Another warm shudder went through her. "I know. We just need to stay together."

Velvet nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem." She gripped Coco's rough hand, running a thumb over the callouses. "I love you, Coco," she added, feeling like those words needed to be said and not just felt.

Coco kissed the base of one of Velvet's ears and cuddled closer, still keeping one hand on Fox. "I love you too, Velvet."

"We love you guys too," Fox murmured. "Platonically, anyway."

Yatsuhashi made a wordless noise of agreement, soothingly rubbing Velvet's back with one hand while reaching over to briefly touch Fox's shoulder.

Velvet touched a few soft kisses to Coco's neck before relaxing against her. She touched a hand to Yatsu's chest, silently thanking her partner for his support, before allowing herself to drift into a light, restless sleep.

Surrounded by the warmth of her soulmate and her two best friends, Coco found herself able to close her eyes. They'd be on the ship for a little while longer, and it would probably be good to rest while she could. The future was more uncertain than it had ever been before, but she felt confident in that moment that they would all get through it together.

 **This obviously has a less fluffy tone than the other chapters, but I felt that a "realizing love during a battle" thing was appropriate. You know, since Rooster Teeth did that as well. *hugs imaginary Jaune and Pyrrha plushies while glaring at Miles and Kerry* I also made Fox and Yatsu larger parts of this, since Coco and Velvet obviously wouldn't have the luxury of privacy in this situation. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I think I'll write a sad but uplifting Arkos chapter that takes place after the battle. Don't worry. It'll be mostly comfort-based. Until then, peace out!**


	5. Arkos: The Vanishing

**Aaaaand we're back with Red String! I'll admit that it took awhile before I was able to type this particular chapter. I promised a post-Volume 3 Arkos piece, and here it is. As I said before, this is mostly comfort-based. Enjoy.**

It is said that the worst emotional pain a person can feel is the moment when their soulmate dies and the red string between them vanishes. In an instant, the emotions and thoughts shared between the two people grow silent, leaving an emptiness that will never be filled again during that lifetime.

Jaune disagreed. The moment when Pyrrha died hadn't been the worst part. It had been the agonizing minutes leading up to it, the sense of complete desperation and hopelessness that filled the time between their last kiss and Cinder's final blow. He remembered lying in the rubble, begging Ruby and Weiss to save her, praying to every deity he had ever heard of, whether he believed in them or not, to just protect her.

He crouched against a broken wall, clutching his left hand. The glow of the red string was dim. He could feel Pyrrha's terror, her sadness, her determination. Worst of all, he could feel her acceptance. She _knew_ that Cinder would likely kill her.

 _Why?_ he thought desperately. _Why did you think you had to do this? Wasn't I enough to convince you?_

He tried to push these thoughts aside, focusing instead on sending every ounce of love and courage he could muster. If he couldn't save her, he'd at least make sure she felt loved until her last breath. With each second, he felt her fear and resignation grow. At some point, he knew what was going to happen next, even if he didn't consciously believe it.

He felt a jolt of pain go through him as her Aura was depleted and she was injured. The string shook. Trembled.

Then, in a timeless second, it vanished. The warmth in his hand that he had grown so accustomed to was gone. As his hand grew cold, so did the rest of him. His mind and chest felt empty. The endless flow of love that he had counted on became silent. He couldn't feel her presence, couldn't sense her warmth.

The string was gone. She was gone.

It didn't send a shock through his body or feel like a mental explosion. It just felt as if a vital piece of him was simply…gone.

He sank against a nearby wall. His eyes grew dim. He stopped crying, not because he wasn't sad, but because he suddenly felt too weak to do so. When a Grimm roared nearby, he turned his head lazily to look at it. It was a Beowolf.

 _Good,_ he thought, his mind feeling like it was filled with thick, poisonous fumes. _Maybe it'll make it quick._

He _did_ feel a jolt then. His eyes widened as he realized what had just gone through his head. For an instant, he could see Pyrrha's face in his mind's eye, glaring at him reproachfully. She had given her life so that her friends could have a chance. He couldn't throw that away. He _wouldn't_ throw that away.

The next few minutes had been spent fighting his way back to his friends. He remembered seeing Weiss only briefly before she was whisked away by her father. He remembered realizing that Blake wasn't with them anymore. He remembered sitting in Yang's room, not saying anything as both blonds stared numbly at blank walls. He remembered waiting for Ruby to wake up. Most of all, he remembered Ren and Nora, who refused to leave his side.

They were with him when Taiyang brought the news that Ruby was awake. This caused Jaune to smile for the first time in days. He felt Nora hugging his arm while Ren leaned into his other side.

After Qrow came out of Ruby's room, Taiyang suggested that Nora and Ren go see her. When Jaune started to follow, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hold up, son. I'd like to talk to you."

Jaune looked quizzically up at him as Nora and Ren reluctantly left. "What is it, sir?"

"How're you holding up?" Taiyang's blue eyes reflected both sympathy and understanding. Jaune remembered that the older Hunter had lost not one, but two loves during his life.

"I…don't know," he admitted, staring at the ground. "I mostly feel numb. Part of me still feels like the thread will reappear and that everything will be okay." He stared at his left hand. "It's just so cold now."

"Mine felt the same way," Taiyang replied, nodding slowly. "When Summer died, nothing seemed real. I just moved around like I was in a daze. If it weren't for my girls…" He trailed off.

"So, Summer was your soulmate?"

"Yep." Taiyang folded his hands as he thought back. "I spent most of my years at Beacon pining after Raven. Sometimes, I wonder if she just settled for me because she couldn't find her soulmate either. It wasn't till after she left that I realized it had been Summer all along. I still kick myself for all the time I wasted."

"Sounds familiar," Jaune sighed, clenching his left hand as he thought back to those wasted months pining for Weiss. He felt a pang at the simple lack of feeling that surrounded his once-warm pinky. A few tears did fall down his face then.

"Listen, son," Taiyang continued, gently putting a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "I'm not trying to bring up more pain. I want to tell you something I found out after Summer died."

"What's that?"

"Your soulmate never truly leaves you," he explained, holding up his own left hand. "The thread may be gone, but the bond remains. The bond isn't between your bodies, which can die, but your souls, which last forever. Do you get it?"

"Yes, sir," Jaune said, trying to keep the sigh out of his voice. It was the same thing people always said when someone died. He had heard it as a kid when his grandfather passed away. _"The people you love never truly leave you. Blah, blah, blah."_ They were pretty words, but they didn't exactly help.

Taiyang pressed on. "I mean it, Jaune. The bond isn't broken, even after death. Once you reach the point when you stop grieving and start really remembering your time together, you'll see what I mean."

Jaune nodded, hoping that would be enough to end the conversation. He knew that Taiyang only wanted to help, and he appreciated it. "Thank you, sir." Nothing more was said, but Jaune couldn't help but feel that he had missed something important.

It wasn't until the beginning of winter, when the new Team RNJR set off on their journey, that he finally realized what that was.

The evening was perfectly ordinary, or as ordinary as an evening camping in the woods while plotting to save the world can get. They were collecting firewood when Jaune suddenly started sneezing. He frowned, looking down at the wood he was holding, before letting out a groan. "Ugh. Guys, check your branches. Looks like those red sap trees I'm allergic to are in the area."

Nora immediately perked up. "Oooh! Can we drink some?"

"No, Nora," Ren scolded. "It's too late in the season."

"Aw."

"Remember our field trip in Forever Fall?" Ruby mused, sighing softly. "It feels so long ago, but it was just over a year at this point."

"It does feel like a long time…" Jaune remembered the events of those few days clearly. It had been during that time when he and Pyrrha had truly bonded as teammates. The night after their field trip had been his first training session and had mostly consisted of him falling on his butt. Pyrrha had helped him up every time, her emerald eyes full of patience. He didn't recognize the undertone of love that had always been there until later.

For a moment, he could see her face as clearly as if she was there with him. He saw her smile, her gentle eyes, and her determined stance. In that moment, he found himself smiling back.

His left pinky grew just a bit warmer. Stunned, he dropped the wood he was carrying and brought his hand up to his face. A choked noise escaped his throat as he stared at it. Wrapped around his left pinky was a tiny, glowing strand. It didn't lead off to a thread, but was limited to his hand, circling his pinky like a ring.

Nora, Ren, and Ruby ran over to him, their eyes full of concern. Nora latched onto his right arm instinctively.

"You okay, Jaune?" she asked, her eyes shining. "Do you need to talk?"

"We can finish collecting the firewood if you need to be alone," Ren offered.

Jaune shook his head. "It- It's Pyrrha," he managed to gasp. "She's here." Tears started streaming down his cheeks as he stared at the tiny string of red on his finger.

The others started looking around in confusion. "Wait, she's alive?" Ruby asked. "How is that even-?"

"No, I mean…" Jaune tried to find the words. "She's not alive, but- but she's not gone." He held out his hand. "The string is here, but it's not a string really…"

"Calm down, Jaune," Ruby said, putting a gentle hand on his chest. "Breathe. Talk slowly, okay?"

Jaune nodded, taking a few deep breaths before trying again. "J-Just now, I felt Pyrrha. She's still dead, but I felt her." He stared at his hand, his eyes desperately drinking in the faint scarlet glow. "When I did, the string appeared again."

Nora's eyes widened. "Wait, seriously? Where's it leading? If we follow it, can we all see Pyrrha wherever she is?" A huge grin spread across her face. "Ruby, you can say hi to Penny and your mom!"

Ruby glanced at Jaune before shaking her head. "I don't think that's how it works, Nora."

Jaune ruffled Nora's hair. "No, Nora. It doesn't lead anywhere. It's just wrapped around my finger. But it's there." He wiped his eyes with the arm Nora wasn't hugging. "That's what Taiyang was trying to tell me," he realized.

"He always seemed pretty positive when he said that Mom was watching over me," Ruby mused, feeling a few tears coming to her eyes. Her lip trembled, but she still managed to smile. "I guess we know now that Pyrrha is too." She looked upward. "And Penny."

Ren walked over and wrapped a comforting arm around Ruby while Jaune pulled Nora into a hug. After a few minutes, the four went back to setting up camp without another word.

That night, Jaune curled up in his sleeping bag, clutching his left hand to his chest, feeling the warmth radiating against his heartbeat. He closed his eyes and focused on the string, sending a pulse of love and gratitude through it. A few seconds later, the string flared against his heart as an answering pulse went through him, causing a few more tears to fall.

 _Thank you, Pyrrha,_ he thought as he fell asleep. _I'll keep fighting for both of us. I promise._

It could have been a dream, but he thought he heard a familiar voice saying: _I know you will, Jaune. I know you will._

 **So, I typed most of this while at the library, which was a bit of a hassle as I caught myself starting to cry a few times and had to stop for a few seconds to regain my composure. Yeah, Pyrrha's death** _ **still**_ **has the power to get me choked up. Even though I stand with my belief that her death was totally unnecessary and poorly-handled, this definitely speaks well of Monty, Miles, Kerry, and the rest of the writing staff's ability to create good characters. What's worse is that I know that they're going to go all Game of Thrones on us. It's only gonna get worse. There will be a time when we'll look back and say "Man, remember when Penny, Roman, and Pyrrha's deaths were the only ones weighing our hearts down? Those were good times!" Ugh…**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll be putting some happier ones out soon. I promise. Peace out!**


	6. Seamonkeys

**Hello, everyone! As promised, this next chapter is one filled with good, old-fashioned happiness. Today's pairing is Seamonkeys, because Sun and Neptune are complete dorks and would look freaking adorable together. Enjoy!**

Looking back, Neptune knew that he fell in love with Sun only a few weeks after his now-best friend moved to Mistral. It had been their last year before they would be able to apply to Haven Academy. Their class was on a routine field assignment in the swamps. Theoretically, it wasn't supposed to be dangerous.

For an aquaphobe like Neptune, it was a complete nightmare.

He tiptoed past every mildly-wet area, testing each patch of ground before allowing his full weight to rest on his foot. The rest of his group had long since gone ahead, rolling their eyes and complaining about being stuck with the "wimp." Sun was the only one who kept coming back, probably because his agility and tree-climbing allowed him to go back and forth easily.

"You okay down there, dude?" he called from one of the half-dead trees. "There aren't any surprise sinkholes on the path. I checked already."

Neptune swallowed loudly. "Th-Thanks, dude. I- EEP!" He jumped backward when his foot suddenly sank into a mud puddle, only to splash into a larger pool and fall on his back.

Sun was at his side immediately. "Chill, man," he said, his brows furrowed with concern. "It's only a foot deep."

Once he was able to stop shaking enough to gain his bearings, Neptune realized that his classmate was right. He let out a sigh, placing a hand over his face. "Sorry about this. You can go ahead with the others if you want."

"That sounds kinda jerky, so I'm not gonna do that," Sun helped him up. "Why are you so jumpy, anyway? I've seen you during sparring class. You're really skilled."

Neptune's face flushed. "I'm fine in most scenarios, but…" He didn't want to admit his secret to this cool new student, but Sun would likely find out eventually. The rest of the school knew (and frequently taunted him about it), after all. "I'm scared of the water."

When Sun raised an eyebrow, Neptune stared at the ground. "I've already heard all the wisecracks concerning my name, before you start."

"I wasn't gonna," Sun said hurriedly. "Why are you scared?"

Neptune bit his lip. "I-I fell into one of the bogs out here when I was little. I was playing with some friends and we were pretending to be Huntsmen. I just kept sinking deeper and deeper." He shuddered at the memory. "They had to take me to the hospital to get all the water out of my stomach and lungs. I almost didn't make it."

"Dude!" Sun gaped at him. "That's terrifying!" He looked around, as if only realizing for the first time how dangerous the swamp was. "I've gone swimming in the ocean and have had to look out for undertows, but drowning in this…" He shook his head slowly. "Well, anyone who makes wisecracks about something like that is a total jerk."

"That would be most of the school," Neptune muttered ruefully.

"Figures," Sun snorted. "Well, now I'm definitely not letting you out of my sight." He poked Neptune's arm with his tail. "Here. Hold onto my tail and I'll go first."

"Really?" Neptune hesitantly took the end of Sun's tail in his hand. "It doesn't hurt, right?"

"Nah. Just don't tie it in a knot." The monkey Faunus grimaced. "I've had people do that before. Not fun." He started walking along the path, carefully placing his feet, though at a much faster pace than Neptune had been doing.

"Um, Sun?" Neptune said as he followed. "Thanks for not laughing at me. And thanks for helping me out."

Sun grinned over his shoulder. "No prob. You can pay me back by telling me where there's a good noodle shop in this town. I've been craving some for the past week."

Despite the smell of brackish water and the soaked status of his clothes, Neptune couldn't help smiling back. "I think I can manage that."

Since that day, Neptune secretly looked up to Sun. When they got into Haven and ended up as teammates, he couldn't believe his luck. They trained together, fought together, went on missions together, and did practically everything together. He would have followed Sun anywhere.

But no red string ever appeared between them.

When they went to Vale for the Tournament and Sun spent an entire morning raving about Blake, a Faunus girl he had met, Neptune decided to resign himself to his position in the bro-zone. When Weiss asked him to the dance, however, he couldn't bring himself to say yes. Logically, he knew that trying to meet new people was his best bet, but he couldn't stop looking at his recently-rejected friend and thinking _I would've said yes if you'd asked me._

At the dance, he saw a small ray of hope. Blake's red string had appeared between her and Yang, so she couldn't be Sun's soulmate. Of course, that didn't mean that Neptune was his soulmate either.

He watched Sun share one dance with Blake before letting Yang cut in. When his best friend approached the edge of the dance floor, he found himself asking: "Wanna dance, bro?"

Sun blinked at him in surprise. "I thought you said you suck at dancing and were just gonna ogle people all night."

Neptune shrugged, hoping that the darkness of the room would hide his blush. "Eh. I thought I'd give you a chance to look good out there for once."

That caused Sun to laugh. "Okay, Nep. Just don't crush my feet."

"I make no promises."

The two ended up sharing several dances that night, including a slow dance that mostly consisted of making stupid faces at each other. When Jaune came in wearing a dress, they teasingly asked Pyrrha if they could cut in. Neptune even pulled Weiss onto the dance floor at one point. By the end of the night, both boys were in pretty good spirits.

A few days later, after Team SSSN's first victory in the tournament, Neptune's spirits were significantly lower. Sun found him sitting by himself, leaning against one of Beacon's walls in one of the deserted areas away from the fairgrounds.

"Hey, man. What are you doing here?" None of his best friend's earlier excitement was there. He thought back to the end of their fight, when Neptune had been happy enough to dance like a moron alongside him. Those familiar blue eyes had been completely aglow. Now, they were fixed on the ground. "Dontcha wanna go bask in our victory a bit more?"

"What victory?" Neptune asked glumly. "That was a mess, mostly because of me."

Sun frowned, walking over and sitting down next to his partner. "Where's this coming from? You were pretty chill earlier."

"I was talking to Sage and Scarlet," Neptune admitted. "They…aren't happy with how things went. They strongly hinted that I shouldn't be in the next round if I'm gonna be a handicap."

A hot flash of rage went through Sun's body for a moment. He shook his head in disbelief. "They know why you're scared of water. We all agreed not to ever mention it," he growled.

"You did?" Neptune raised an eyebrow before looking at his feet. "You shouldn't be dealing with this. I'm just a burden to the team."

"They didn't say that, right?" Sun asked.

"Of course not. They tried to be nice about it, honestly." Neptune started tearing at the grass. "They've been patient, but I think having it come into play during the tournament… I dunno."

Sun placed a hand on Neptune's shoulder. "Look, Nep. I agree that we need to work on your water thing. If you're gonna be a Huntsman, you can let stuff like that get in your way. But we have time. We just need to figure out what works."

"Still," Neptune muttered. "I think Scarlet should go with you to the next round."

"We'll talk about it as a team later," Sun said, giving Neptune's shoulder a small shake. "In the meantime, let's enjoy some greasy fair food." He grinned hopefully. "Come on. We can watch Scarlet eat a corndog and tell dirty jokes to drive him crazy."

Neptune snorted, grinning a little despite his best efforts. "Okay, that's immature even for you."

"Hey, I'm always trying to beat my record," Sun declared proudly, his smile widening when he saw the one on Neptune's face. He started poking his friend's stomach with his tail. "C'mon, you know it's funny!"

Neptune swatted at Sun's tail, laughing as it tickled his sensitive abdomen. "Cut it out!" His heart warmed at his friend's efforts to cheer him up. Sun had always been like this, ever since that day at the swamp.

His name was certainly fitting. He just seemed to have this natural ability to brighten any situation. He was never judgmental, never impatient, never angry. His exasperation at Neptune during the fight had been the closest thing to those negative emotions he had ever shown. Even that was rapidly fading in the face of his current, unwavering support.

This realization was how Neptune justified what he did next. Scooting closer to Sun, he leaned in and kissed his best friend's cheek. It was a quick, soft action. He felt the warmth of tanned skin before he withdrew, feeling strangely calm.

Sun, on the other hand, was completely stunned. His heart pounded in his ears as he tried to wrap his head around what had just happened. He looked at his left hand, frowning when he saw nothing. He looked back at Neptune, whose face was serene. When their eyes met, however, he saw a flash of uncertainty in his friend's eyes.

That look was enough to snap Sun out of his shock. Pushing his confusion aside, he ruffled Neptune's hair. "Wanna head back?"

Neptune nodded, standing up as he tried to ignore the wave of disappointment that was threatening to crash down on his mind. If that hadn't been enough to get the string to appear, nothing was.

They rejoined the rest of their team, Sun giving Sage and Scarlet looks that obviously said "Don't talk about it anymore." They spent the rest of the day goofing off at the fairgrounds, eating way too many noodles, going on a few rides, and immediately regretting their noodle obsession when said rides started.

That night, when they all went to sleep, Sun found that he couldn't get the brief, cool sensation of Neptune's lips out of his mind. So many things suddenly made sense. He thought about how thrilled Neptune had been when they found each other during initiation. He remembered how quiet his friend had been when he had been telling him about Blake. His cheeks flushed as he recalled how close they had been during the dance. He held his left hand in front of his face and tried to feel something besides confusion.

The following morning, Sun was more distant than usual. He laughed and joked as he always did, and most of his friends didn't notice the difference, but Neptune noticed a definite distracted quality to the way he was acting.

 _Crap,_ he thought. _Is he thinking about me kissing him yesterday?_ What part of his brain had managed to rationalize doing something so stupid?! It had seemed perfectly natural at the time, but the lack of a red string clearly meant that it had been a terrible idea. Sun knew how he felt and didn't feel the same way, and the two would be stuck in an awkward no-man's land until they both found their real soulmates!

"Hey, Nep?"

Sun's voice broke Neptune out of his panicked thoughts. "Huh?" He felt his mouth go dry when his gaze met his partner's. There was an intensity in the Faunus's brown eyes that wasn't often there. He was thinking very hard about something.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" Sun's stomach had been in knots all morning, and his heart was threatening to make him go deaf. He needed to figure this out right away.

"Uh, sure," Neptune replied, getting up and following Sun toward the deserted areas near the fairgrounds. _Crap, crap, crap!_

Once they were away from prying eyes, Sun turned to look at Neptune. "Okay, dude. Before I say anything, I gotta ask why you kissed me yesterday. Give me a straight answer." He paused, blinking a few times before grinning. "Well, I guess it won't be a _straight_ answer, huh?"

The unexpected joke made Neptune burst out laughing, dissipating most of the tension that had started building up in his chest. Sun was still grinning when he looked at him again. This, more than anything, gave him the courage to tell the truth. "Well… I've kinda had a thing for you for a long time."

"How long?" Sun asked.

"Since that day you helped me during our field trip in the swamp," Neptune admitted, his face turning red. "You've been there for me ever since then, and when you cheered me up after my huge screw-up yesterday… I dunno. It just happened." His gaze went to his unresponsive left hand, and he suppressed a sigh.

"Hm." Sun noticed where Neptune was looking and lightly flexed his own left hand. "Nep, is it okay if I try something?"

Neptune tilted his head, trying to read Sun's expression. "Sure. What is it?"

Sun didn't answer. Instead, he took a step forward, placed a hand on the back of Neptune's neck, and pressed their lips together. He felt and heard Neptune's muffled gasp of surprise before his friend's slender arms came up to wrap around his back. He placed a hand on Neptune's arm while wrapping his tail around his waist.

The coolness and softness of Neptune's lips were even more obvious now. They moved eagerly against Sun's and the blue-haired boy was making quiet, adorable sounds in the back of his throat. Sun pressed himself closer, surprised by just how much he was enjoying this.

Neptune felt as if he was drowning, but in the best way possible. He kissed Sun's lips desperately, hoping that the warmth he was feeling in his face and chest would move into his left pinky. He felt his friend's tail encircle his waist and became so lightheaded, he wondered how he was still standing. Part of him wanted to place a hand on Sun's bare chest and feel that strong heartbeat, but he resisted the urge. There would be plenty of time for that once the string appeared.

…Any second, now.

The kiss ended and both boys stepped back, gasping for breath and staring at the bemused expression on the other's face. Almost simultaneously, they held up their left hands and saw nothing.

Neptune heaved a sigh, closing his eyes and taking a few breaths to force back the tears that were threatening to well up. "Well," he finally muttered. "I guess that's it, huh?"

Sun, on the other hand, was still confused. "Why didn't anything happen?"

"We're not soulmates, obviously," Neptune said, unable to keep the mournfulness out of his voice. "We can't force it."

Sun shook his head. "But…that was really nice." He looked at Neptune. "And you're my best friend. If Blake isn't my soulmate, and you aren't, who the heck could it be?!"

"I don't know," Neptune replied, not really wanting to think about whoever Sun's soulmate was. "Maybe-" Suddenly, something occurred to him. "Wait, how did you say the kiss was?"

Sun blinked. "Uh, I said it was really nice. Why?"

Neptune let out a short laugh. "Well, 'really nice' doesn't even begin to cover how it was for me. It was life-changing." He blushed at how cheesy that sounded, but didn't withdraw his statement.

"I'm sorry," Sun sighed, staring at the ground. "I thought things would just magically happen if I kissed you for real, but I guess I just screwed you up even worse."

Sun's tone and words only confirmed what Neptune was realizing: Sun wasn't in love with him. Rather than feeling depressed at this revelation, however, Neptune felt a stirring of hope. "I mean, the string's supposed to only appear when both people are in love, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Sun asked before realizing what Neptune was getting at. He facepalmed. "Of course I wasn't gonna fall for you in a day! Duh!"

"Especially since you just finished getting over Blake," Neptune added, feeling the beginning of a smile returning to his face. "So, there might be a chance."

"So, just date for awhile and see what happens? Is that what you're suggesting?" Sun frowned. "But, what if we aren't soulmates, even after that? You're my best friend, and I don't wanna hurt you even worse."

"If we aren't soulmates, then our real ones are out there somewhere," Neptune rationalized. "In the meantime, though…" He looked hopefully at Sun. "I think I'd be really happy with you until we knew for sure, one way or another."

Sun thought about it for a moment. Looking at Neptune's earnest, gentle eyes definitely made him feel _something_. Would it deepen into love? Would this end with a red string connecting the two? He wasn't sure.

Still, he was feeling pretty damn happy at that moment. Would it really be so bad to indulge himself and Neptune if they were both okay with it? As long as they remained friends first and foremost, things between them could be basically the same as always. And, admittedly, he really wanted to feel those cool lips again.

"Okay," he said, laughing at how quickly Neptune's face brightened at his words. "Let's see how this goes. Just one condition, though."

"What's that?"

Sun flashed his biggest, most mischievous grin yet. "You have to be the girl."

Neptune gaped before bursting into laughter. "Sun, no! We're _not_ doing that dynamic. Neither one of us is 'the girl.'"

"That's just what the girl would say to get out of it," Sun shot back, his eyes glittering. "Come on, I'm totally gonna wear the pants in this relationship."

"At least I'm wearing the shirt!" Neptune snapped, causing his partner to fall on the ground in hysterics.

Once they calmed down, the two walked back to the fairgrounds hand in hand, prepared for the onslaught of questions that would likely come from Scarlet and Sage. Though their pinkies remained cold, their joined hands were warm enough for the time being.

 **This took a different turn than I thought it would. No matter how much I wrote, I just didn't see the string appearing in this one. I honestly can't decide whether it would be more meaningful to leave it here, or whether I should make a second part to this where the string finally does materialize. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Even though I'm a bit "meh" about Neptune's character, I absolutely adore Sun and love the dynamic these two have. This was very fun to write, so I definitely need to be writing more Seamonkeys in the future, whether it's in this fic or otherwise. I also brought out a personal headcanon that Neptune's aquaphobia came from falling in a swamp at a young age. Qrow said that Mistral is surrounded by swamplands, so it makes sense.**

 **Until next time, peace out!**


	7. Black Sun

**Greetings, everyone! As many of you know, Volume 5 picked me up and threw me right back onto the Black Sun ship, and thank goodness for that! From the interaction between Sun and Blake to the fact that Miles hadn't intended for Blake to actually slap Sun in that one infamous scene (miscommunication with the animators, apparently), my former misgivings are basically gone. Falling out of love with a beloved ship isn't fun, but I'm now back to stay!**

 **Just so you know, this chapter isn't connected with the Seamonkeys chapter. Chapters are unconnected unless I specifically say otherwise.**

 **Enjoy!**

After her experiences with Adam, Blake spent a long time actively avoiding falling in love. She already knew the pain of falling in love with the wrong person. She knew what it was like to stare vainly at her hand, waiting for the red string to appear, and hating herself when it didn't.

Of course, Adam had made it seem like it was all her fault. Clearly, they were soulmates. The red string simply hadn't appeared because Blake hadn't loved Adam enough. Blake had apologized and tried to love more.

Even after she left him, it had taken a long time for her to realize that it hadn't been her fault. It had been Adam. It had always been Adam. He hadn't loved her, not really. And, even if he had, there was no way her soulmate could be someone like him. Fate wasn't that cruel, right?

Still, Blake couldn't help but wonder who her soulmate was. What if it did end up being someone like Adam? What if she fell in love with someone who wasn't her soulmate? What if she did, but didn't love enough? She hated herself when that last thought surfaced.

So, she resisted falling in love. Even when Sun came into her life, she found it in her to keep her emotions in check. She rolled her eyes at his genuine smile. She pushed aside the warmth that filled her when they danced together. When she went to Menagerie, she did everything to try and drive him from her side for good.

But she could feel her resolve being chipped away. What made it worse was that Sun had no idea what he was doing! He wasn't like Adam, who would have actively whittled away at Blake's defenses until she was vulnerable and helpless. No, Sun wasn't doing anything intentionally. He had no idea that Blake's mind was in shambles.

All he knew was that he loved her, and that he wanted to help her and be a part of her life, whatever that ended up meaning.

He wouldn't abandon her if the red string never appeared. He wouldn't turn away if his romantic feelings faded or were never returned. He was her friend, no matter what. He told her that frequently, and he never tried to push anything, even though every look at those shimmering gray eyes showed how much he wanted to.

Blake wanted to as well, but the fear held her back. She thought back to how broken she had been in Adam's hands, and hesitated to hand her heart over to anyone else, even someone she knew would never hurt her intentionally.

Her fear persisted until they reached Mistral, where it reached unimaginable levels. She was going to confront Adam. She was going to see him again. She didn't know if she could handle the terror, the humiliation.

Sun held her hand on the ride there, sensing her disquiet and assuring her that everything would be okay. "This will be different," he assured her. "It was just you and Yang last time. There's way more of us now. He won't get a chance to hurt you, or anyone else. We'll make sure of it."

Ilia was sitting nearby, staring at her hands. Blake knew that a thousand conflicting feelings were going through her old friend's mind: love for Blake, self-loathing, confusion, and a new, betrayed, disgusted feeling that was evident in her expression when Blake finally told her the extent of Adam's prior abuse.

Blake felt pity for Ilia, already knowing on some deep level that she wasn't her soulmate. Ilia was the type of person to yearn for a soulmate. And she'd been pining for Blake for years! _We'll meet new people in Mistral,_ she thought. _I know Ilia will love someone else eventually._

Would Sun love someone else eventually? The thought made Blake slightly queasy, and she pushed the feeling away.

When they did confront Adam, however, the most incredible thing happened. The fear vanished.

It didn't lessen. It just vanished.

Of course, Adam was still dangerous and had to be handled accordingly, but that deep emotional baggage abruptly left Blake as she looked down at him from the rooftop. He was…pathetic. His control over her, over the White Fang, faded in the face of Blake's words, in the face of the Faunus of Menagerie who saw him for what he was. Any semblance of competence he may have had left along with his control, like the two qualities were a married couple leaving an undesirable home in search of another.

Adam's reaction was that of an oversized two-year-old having a temper tantrum. Blake would have laughed if it wasn't so weirdly sad!

She nearly did laugh when Sun said his bit. Later on, she and Ilia would snicker over the fact that Sun literally told Adam that he was a loser with no friends.

And that's all he was, truly. He wasn't some undefeatable monster. He wasn't a force of nature that had any control over Blake's life anymore. She remembered how seriously she had taken his threat to destroy everyone she loved, and compared that certainty to now. He could try and target people if he wanted, but he had no power anymore. The most he could do was lash out from the shadows. He was reduced to little more than an insect.

Blake was fearless for the first time in her life when she fought Adam with Sun at her side. The only moment of fear came when Sun tried to follow Adam into the trees, and that was only a brief moment of a different, easy to understand kind of fear.

The fight continued, and Sun ran toward it.

Impulsively, Blake reached out and touched his shoulder. He stopped, looking at her with surprise. "Be careful," she urged. As she met his eyes, she was certain that she could feel the gentle grayness of them seeping into her entire being, making her braver still.

Sun smiled, all warmth and gentleness and hope. "No promises."

They parted, and a sharp, electric feeling leaped through the air between them. It pumped with their hearts, through their blood, and into their hands. As they moved away from each other, they remained bound by the red string that danced and glowed in the charged air.

Blake had to force herself to leave him and seek out her teammates. The separation was painful. She could see it in the anguished look Sun shot her over his shoulder as he ran off in the opposite direction. _Don't die, Sun,_ she thought. _You'd better not die!_

When the battle finally ended, she felt Sun approaching her. He grinned down at her. Then, in a swift movement that left her breathless, he grabbed her waist with his tail and spun her around so that she was facing her teammates.

Even though they had just discovered the red string, Sun was urging her to see to her team before him. Blake felt the love for her selfless, pure-hearted soulmate increase tenfold, and was thrilled when she didn't feel any fear threatening to push it away.

Sun felt a pulse on his hand, felt a wordless expression of gratitude and love traveling between his heart and Blake's. He couldn't stop grinning. _I knew it!_ He had known, somehow, with every fiber of his being that Blake was the one! Ever since he first saw her take off her ribbon, he had known.

"Go on," he muttered. "We got time. Go." He watched as she reunited with her team, and felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm glad it was you," Kali whispered, nodding in Blake's direction.

Sun smiled. "Me too." He looked at Ghira, his tail twitching hopefully.

Ghira looked at Sun's left hand, at the happy flush in the boy's cheeks, and then at Blake, whose ears were twitching with excitement. He let out a sigh. "I suppose I can get used to you," he muttered begrudgingly.

Kali rolled her eyes. "He likes you," she whispered to Sun. "He's just a jackass sometimes."

"Kali!"

"Sorry, sweetie. Only speaking the truth!"

Sun snickered, then glanced over his shoulder. Blake was walking back over to him, and so were their friends. _Friends…_ He touched his hand to Blake's cheek, even as he took out his Scroll with his other hand. "Speaking of team reunions…"

Between seeing the rest of Team SSSN again, learning what was going to happen next, and celebrating with everyone, it wasn't until late at night that Sun and Blake were able to be alone. Sun found her sitting at the couch, sipping tea. There was a second, fresh cup on the table, which he gladly picked up as he sat next to her.

"Hey," he murmured, nudging her side with his tail.

Blake smiled warmly at him. "Hey." She scooted closer, leaning against him, letting out a sigh that seemed to carry all of her burdens at once. For a moment, she thought she saw the ones involving Adam turning to smoke and dissolving to nothingness. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sun asked, even as he felt her emotions through the string. "For not figuring your feelings out sooner? Blake, I get it! You had a lot going on. I wasn't expecting anything from you."

"And you still stayed."

"Of course, I did!" Sun put his cup down. "I'm really hard to get rid of, you know?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know. Trust me." She put her cup down and turned to face him. She watched his smile fade into a different, but somehow happier expression, watched his eyes take on a new intensity that thrilled her. She touched his warm cheek, closed her eyes, and gave herself up completely.

The kiss was warm and tentative, consisting of several chaste touches. Sun wrapped his tail around her waist, pulling her just a little closer. With one hand, he gently stroked the string that twirled between them. _I love you,_ he thought.

Blake's whole body felt hot, her skin tingling with a static-like sensation. She touched the string with a shaking hand. _I love you too._

They pulled back, eyes locked, and smiled at the same time. Sun pushed her hair behind her ears. Blake placed a hand on his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat.

"Wanna sleep here tonight?" Sun asked. "I mean, we don't have to _do_ anything! That's not what I'm thinking. Just…if you don't want to be alone, you know?"

Blake smiled, snuggling gladly against Sun, seeing the faint glow of the red string even as she closed her eyes. "I'm not alone," she murmured, feeling her first peaceful sleep in months approaching her fatigued mind with the eager familiarity of an old friend. "Not anymore."

 **I really missed this collection! Soulmate AUs are a ton of fun (and I may or may not have another fic planned in the future that has a basis of both soulmates and dæmons…) It's fun to explore what the concept of a soul connection can do to a relationship, and how it effects the people involved.**

 **Tomorrow will be the last day of the Week of Solora, and will have another "Wings of Dust" update. After that, it'll be two werewolf days a week, and Dragon Tuesdays. After "Once in a Shattered Moon" is done, Fridays will be devoted to whatever oneshots and shorter chapter fics I feel like doing. I hope you guys enjoy the ride!**

 **If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.**

 **Peace out!**


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